Girl, 7, To Be Remembered On 40th Anniversary Of Disappearance

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Janice Pockett was 7-years-old when she disappeared from her Tolland home in 1973. She had jumped on her bike and headed down Anthony Road to chase a butterfly 40 years ago on July 26, 1973.

Police found Pockett’s bike close to her home and Charles Pierce, a Massachusetts man and convicted child killer, reportedly confessed to killing Pockett, however, the child’s remains were never found.

Mary Englebrecht, Pockett’s sister and the last living family member, has held out hope that the cold case can be solved. She, along with Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman and community members from eastern Connecticut will dedicate a bench in Pockett’s memory at the Cross Farms Recreation Complex tonight at 7 p.m. Over 200 people from the community donated money to buy the bench and remember the young girl.